Pirates Rumors: Ke'Bryan Hayes trade interest could relieve Pittsburgh of contract

Per Bob Nightengale, the only two Pirates who are absolutely immovable at the trade deadline are Paul Skenes and Oneil Cruz — anyone else could be packing their bags after July 31. Despite the team having some of the poorest collective hitting stats in baseball, there are still pieces on the roster who are performing well individually and could have contenders knocking on Pittsburgh's door.

Ke'Bryan Hayes, who is on the fourth year of an eight-year extension, doesn't wield a powerful bat. He's hitting .232 with a .580 OPS through 64 games. But his bat has never really been the attraction; in 2022, his highest fWAR season, he hit just .244 with a .659 OPS but tied with Tommy Edman for the third highest OAA of anyone in the major leagues. He's been a consistently excellent defensive third baseman and baserunner throughout his career so far, and he won a Gold Glove in 2023.

It seems like that could be enough for the Pirates to sell him. Nightengale confirmed that both Hayes and Bryan Reynolds, two of the Pirates' highest earners, are generating trade interest and seem likely to be dealt at the deadline.

Ke'Bryan Hayes' MLB-best defense at third base could make him a powerful trade piece for Pirates

The Pirates have already paid out the most expensive guaranteed years of Hayes' extension, giving him $10 million in 2022 and again in 2023. He's making $7 million a year from 2024 through 2027 before his pay escalates to $8 million in 2028 and 2029. There's also a $12 million club option for 2030.

All things considered, that's a pretty affordable contract for a lot of teams. The average MLB salary this season is $5 million, and Hayes provides elite defense that does make up for some of his offensive shortcomings.

If the Pirates deal him, they'll be pushing the defense agenda to any prospective buyers. He's this year's 11th most valuable defensive player by Statcast's fielding run value and has the fifth-highest OAA.

And, who knows? Maybe the right buying team would be able to fix his bat. which did show a lot of promise in his 2020 rookie season. Although it'd be harder to get offense-forward teams to bite, it probably won't be all that hard for the Pirates to find a buyer, which would free them from the rest of their $70 million commitment, which is really the entire point of dealing him anyway.